[EM] a majority rule definition based on the Smith set

[Daniel Bishop]

Kevin Venzke wrote:

>Hi James,
>
> --- James Green-Armytage <jarmyta at antioch-college.edu> a écrit : 
>  
>
>>	Another accepted use is "more than half of the voters who express a
>>preference between two options/candidates". That's the definition I
>>choose. I realize that you don't agree with it, but at least my reasoning
>>is made clear to you. One benefit of this kind of definition is that it
>>assures that a batch of spoiled ballots cannot rob a defeat of "majority"
>>status.
>>http://wiki.electorama.com/wiki/Neutrality_of_Spoiled_Ballots
>>    
>>
>
>Do you mean "spoiled" in the sense meant in that article? Because I don't
>think there is a danger that many voters will vote everyone equal, and even
>if they do, I don't think it is a big deal if this breaks some majorities.
>
It's actually pretty common for voters to cast blank ballots, especially 
if there are many elections on the same day.  The recent elections here 
at TAMU (http://vote.tamu.edu/resources/2005A/results.htm) are an 
example of this.  So were the 2004 U.S. elections: There were quite a 
few voters who voted for President but cast a blank ballot in their 
House race.